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Like Willy Wonka, this Memphis chocolatier wants his sweets to tell stories

Sep 5, 2022
With flavors like barbecue, cornbread and banana pudding, Phillip Ashley Rix found an unfilled niche in the luxury chocolate world.
A box of luxury chocolates from Phillip Ashley Rix.
(Courtesy Rix)

People of color who own small businesses in college towns say it's hard to sell to schools

Aug 15, 2022
Smaller operations report barriers to entering the educational procurement market, a study shows, despite commitments to diversity.
Terryl Calloway runs a small graphics and printing firm in Boston, a short distance from many campuses, but he says it’s been challenging to attract them as customers.
Meredith Nierman / GBH News

Two years on from BLM protests, business has declined at Black-owned bookstores

Jun 20, 2022
However, it's still better than it was before the protests.
Black-owned bookstores have seen traffic thinning out following the surge after George Floyd's murder and the uproar that came after in 2020.
Getty Images

As PPP funds run dry, small businesses need capital

Jul 29, 2021
There’s still a lot of recovery to go, and financial ground to make up - for small businesses, especially, according to new analysis.
Larger companies initially took advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program, which was intended to offer forgivable loans to smaller businesses.
Kameleon007 via Getty Images

In Texas, some Black-owned barbecue restaurants saw an uptick in business during summer protests

Oct 14, 2020
For some, the surges in business helped weather challenges during the pandemic. But there are many Black-owned businesses that could close because of COVID-19.
Brothers Juan (left) and Brent Reaves stand in front of their store, Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que in Dallas.
Keren Carrión/KERA

How the decline of Black-owned insurance firms widened the wealth gap

Jul 20, 2020
Many of the agencies survived the Great Depression but later died out. Their loss meant less money invested into Black communities.
Moyo Studios

Activism "is built into the DNA of our brand"

Jun 9, 2020
Nikoa Evans-Hendricks is a restaurateur and executive director of an entrepreneurs' coalition in Harlem. She talks about the role of Black-owned businesses.
Courtesy Nikoa Evans-Hendricks

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